Apparatus for making inner tubes and the like



D. C. MCROBERTS.

APPARATUS FOR MAKING INNER TUBES AND THE LIKE.

' APPLICATION FILED Nov. 23, 1921.

1,433,56L muted OCI. 31, 1922 32mg hw woz/man Patented @at 3l, i922.

"unirtl STME- ,noivnn c. mencenars, or rnnriinnrotrs, rumana n ssrenonTo le consenti, coat-cammen or immane.

APPARATUS FOR llIAKING XNNR sanear narran ann erin trim.

Original application fi1cd`June 8, 1921, Serial No. 75,854. `New PatentNo. .lAS Divided and` this application lecl November 23, lZl.

To all vii/iomz't may concern Be it 1xnown thatil, DoNAL C, Molonars, acitizen of the United Statesresiding at indianapolis. county of Marlon,and State of indiana, have invented certain new and useful improvementsin an Apparatus for Blaking lnner Tubes and the like, of which thefollowing' is a full, clearand exact description.

his invention relates to an apparatus for facilitatingthe manufacture ofhollow plastic articles, and more particularly tubular articles ofvulcanizable rubber composition, such as inner tubes forinakingpneumatic tires, this application beinef a division of my priorapplication Serial No. 475,854:liled June 8th, 1921.

in my prior applic-ation is disclosed a method ot' eliminating'expensive fabric jacxets by coating the -formed inner tube or articlewith a lubricating` substance, such as mica. The present inventionrelates to an apparatus for facilitating the application or coating ofthe tube or article with a lubricating' substance`r such as mica, andremoving any excess of the same, the application and removal of theexcess lubrieating1 substance being effected automatically andimmeciately after the tube has been formed from a sheet of vulcanizablerubber composition. The invention aims to economize in labor andmaterial, and endem'ors to eliminate the production of defective orsecond tubes incident to these particular steps in their manufacture.

fl. preferred form of the `invention is illustrated in the accompanying`drawings in which l lligr. l, is a plan view of a sheet of stock,showingthe pole about to be rolled thereover,

Fig. 2 is a section shoivinc: the green tube after it has been plied upby rolling,

3 is an elevation partly in section of a preferred form of mica-applyingtable, and

Fig. l illustrates the manner of spirally wrapping; the green tube witha tape after its exterior has been coated with mica.

ln the manufacture of inner tubes as a type' of hollow rubber articles,a sheet l of vulcanizable rubber composition is usuallyv coiled tvv'o ormore times around a pole 2, in order to obtain the tubular form,See'V 1. i l'ligswl and 2. /This may be accomplished sensi no. 517,220.

. in any suitable manner, preferably, as shown inig, 3, by rolling' uponthe horizontal suri'iace il of a table 4l, operatives at opposite endsof the table giving the pole a spin with their;handsbringing it from theposition shown at the left of Fig, 3 to approximately that shown at theright of the table. Adjacent the table 4, l preferably provide a coatingtable, indicated generally at, having a downwardly inclined top 6, onwhose surface is laid a layer of felt 7, which is covered with a sheet 8of any suitable imperferate and smooth material, such as rubber. Afterplying up the sheet l of green stock, the formed tube on the pole 2 isrolled or gravit'ated down the table, whose surface 8 has been dustedwith a lubricant, such as mica. ln this operation, the lengthwiseshoulder or seam l of the hollow article is disposed in the relationshown in suchwise that the lubricant is prevented from collect-y ingtherein. At the lower side of the inclined table 6 is arranged a trough9, which is flanked by notched or shouldered side pieces l0. yTheselatter are arranged at such a distance apart as to receive the bare orun-` coated ends of the poles, and the notches or shoulders affordsuccessive drops down which the poles bump and thus shake off any excesslubricant the excess, of course, collecting in the trough 9 forredistribution as required over the surface of thecoating-table 5. istop 1l. is preferably provided at the side of the trough 9 to haltmovement of the poles, the length of the trough in the direction of themovement of the poles being as long' as desired to accommodate the rateof production.

Subsequently, the formed and coated tube is wrapped in spiralconvolutions of fabric `12, as illustrated in Fig. 4. Thus, it is madeready for vulcanization which is then carried on in any suitable manner,with either the wrapper 12 in place, or with the ends of the tube onlytaped down.

The invention is not limited to the practice of the method disclosed inmy prior application, and any use following the underlying` principlesmentioned above` is contemplated. Reference should therefore be made tothe accompanying claims for understanding; of its scope.

Having thus described my invention, y

what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

l; An apparatus for applying a` lub'ri eating substance `to`vulcanlz'able krubber tubesA formed about niandrels, comprising aninclined table upon which lubricating substances may be scattered, andrneans at the lower end of said inclined table for shaking theV mandrel.u i

'2. An apparatus for applying a lubricating substance tovulcanizablerubber tubes formed about inandrels, Vcolr'iprising an inclined tableupon Whichv a lubricating substance may be scattered, and stepped downside pieces adjacent the lower edgeo'tv said inclined surface spacedapart a distance less than the length of the pole but greater than thelength ofthe Vulcanizable rub-ber tube fornied there-about. y

3. Ain apparatus for applying a lubricatingv substance to vulcanizablerubber tubes iornied aboutgniadr'els, comprising an inclined table uponwhich a lubricating substance may besca-tteredyand stepped down sidepieces adjacent the lower edge of said inclined. surface spaced apart adistance less than the length of the pole but greater than the length ofthe vulcanizable rubber tube formed thereabout,` and a: trough forcatching tlie' 'lubricating substance intermediate said' side pieces asit is Shaken off.

.Signed atllndianapolis this 17th day of November, 1921. n

-- DONAL C. MCROBERT.

